With the obligations introduced by the new legislation on electronic waste, which came into force last 12 April and introduced the One for Zero principle for small WEEE in shops with a sales floor area of more than 400 square metres, the consortium Ecolight, in collaboration with Hera Group, is making available the first smart bins for disposing of small electronic products, energy-saving lamps and spent batteries free of charge and with no purchase obligation.

"In practical terms, this is a dual service that we are offering both to retailers, with the aim of relieving them of the management of this waste, and to consumers, who will know that at a given location they can bring their electronic waste," explains Giancarlo Dezio, managing director of Ecolight, the national consortium for the management of WEEE, batteries and accumulators.

One for Zero. To get rid of an old mobile phone or a no-longer-working MP3 player, all you need to do is go to a point of sale offering the service. The bin is fully automated and is accessible to the consumer via their health card. By indicating the type of product to be deposited, the bin opens a hatch where the waste can be placed. Only small-sized electronic waste can be deposited, such as mobile phones and small household appliances, as well as energy-saving light bulbs and standard portable batteries. The waste deposited in this way can then be correctly disposed of.
"The intention is not only to continue along that path of raising awareness and knowledge of WEEE," Dezio continues, "but also to make a significant contribution to the collection of this waste. The new targets set out in the legislation are demanding: over the next two years we will need to move from the 4 kg per capita currently collected to 12. And this requires everyone's commitment."

The service, which is currently in a pilot phase, will soon be set up at points of sale within the areas of Emilia-Romagna where Hera manages the public waste collection service, and will also be offered in the Padua area.